1. Field of the Invention
A diagnostic assembly and method for detecting a presence of cancer in a breast of a patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been recognized in the field of cancer research and treatment that blood vessels that feed cancerous tumors in breasts, i.e. angiogenic blood vessels, have a different anatomical structure than normal blood vessels, causing such angiogenic blood vessels to constrict to a lesser degree than normal blood vessels in response to a cold stimulus that is applied to the body of a patient. As such, the temperature associated with normal blood vessels decreases to a greater extent than angiogenic blood vessels when the body of the patient is exposed to the cold stimulus.
In recognition of this difference, a method called a “cold challenge” has been developed to detect the presence of breast cancer in patients, wherein thermal images of the breasts of the patient are recorded before and after the hands of the patient are subject to a cold stimulus. The second thermal image, i.e. a test thermal image, taken after the hands of the patient are subject to the cold stimulus, is compared to the first thermal image, i.e. a control thermal image, taken before the hands of the patient are subject to the cold stimulus to identify regions of the breasts in which the temperature remained substantially unchanged after the patient was subjected to the cold stimulus, therefore indicating the presence of angiogenic blood vessels and cancer in the regions.
One example of such a cold challenge assembly and method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,558,618 to Darin S. Williams including a frame supporting a bucket of ice water, wherein thermal images of the breasts of the patient are recorded before and after the hands of the patient are cooled by dipping the hands of the patient in the bucket of ice water.
Such prior art cold challenges suffer from certain drawbacks. One such drawback is that the ice water tends to be heated by the hands of the patient during administration of the tests, especially at the boundary layer of the ice water around the patient's hands and fingers. Additionally, the temperature of the ice water can vary as it sits between and during the administration of tests. Such variances in the temperature of the ice water during and between administration of tests can lead to imprecise and inconsistent test results. Additionally, certain patients are sensitive to the cold, such as those with Renaud's Syndrome, and can become uncomfortable during testing. Further, such ice buckets are prone to spilling during administration of the test and during movement between tests. Thus, a nurse or technician is required to clean up and maintain the ice buckets during and after each test.